Mr. Mike Upchurch, a Workboat Academy student, is documenting his 2-year path of becoming a deck officer onboard an ocean-going tugboat and getting back to his roots on the water.

His detailed blog, Back to Sea with Me…, provides an in-depth view of what life on a tug is all about.  MITAGS-PMI is very proud of the Workboat Academy and the efforts from everyone that has continued to make this program relevant.

Here is a short excerpt from his latest post on May 16th:

“As far as readiness goes, I felt that my 4 weeks of classes that I had prior to my sea phase, prepared me more than sufficiently for working on a tugboat for the first time. I knew the terminology, understood the processes fairly well, had good expectations and came aboard with a fair amount of confidence and respect for what I was about to undertake. PMI goes a little farther with their classes than most schools so that you are not just getting trained, but that you are comfortable with the subject knowledge and "ready" to implement it. Being fresh out of class, it was nice being able to recite rules of the road, navigation lights, marlinspike seamanship and safety training topics verbatim. I'm sure the freshness will wear off and I too will fall prey to some lost knowledge over time, but for now, it feels good to have at the ready.

I term that I use to use quite a bit when I managed an outdoor adventure company, was "withitness". It was coined by one of our rock climbing instructors and I've held onto it ever since. We use it to explain a leader’s demeanor with regards to guiding, leading, working in technically challenging jobs that can and will contain elements of risk and or safety. I try to always strive for a certain level of "withitness" and try to have my sh#% together so-to-speak when on the job. Tug boating is no exception, especially when trying to move up the ladder into the pilothouse. My goal in life is to build that "withitness" through training, practice and assessment. PMI did a great job in that regards and I look forward to the remainder of my classroom sessions in June and October this year.”

To keep up with Mr. Upchurch and his tugboat adventures, be sure to follow his blog!

MITAGS-PMI has expressed immense pride in the Workboat Academy and the efforts from everyone that continue to make this program relevant.

source: The Maritime Executive

BigLift Shipping and RollDock Shipping have formed a joint company, BigRoll, which will operate two newbuild transportation vessels.

The MC-Class module carriers (maximum deadweight 22,500 metric tons/24,802 tons) will be available around end-2014 to early-2015 for transport of ultra large and heavy modular cargoes by sea, including offshore structures.

The design focus will be on short loading and discharging times, high service speed (13 knots) and low acceleration. Both vessels will have DP-2 and Finnish Swedish 1A ice class notations.

Overall length of the MC-Class is 169 m (554 ft) with a beam of 42 m (138 ft), providing a deck space of 42 x 125 m (138 x 410 ft). Room on the main decks is maximized by keeping them free of manholes and air heads.

Loading and discharging of modules can be performed over the vessels’ stern or side by ro-ro or skidding. To minimize loading/discharge time the ballast capacity of the vessel is 12,000 cu m/hr.

Specifications MC-Class
Length over all: 169 m
Width over all: 42 m
Hull depth: 12 m
Design draught: 5.5 m
Deadweight (max).: 22,500 mt
Ballast capacity: 12,000 m3/hr
Free deck space: 125 x 42 m
Deck strength: 20 ton/m2
DP 2
Finnish/Swedish Ice Class 1A
Service speed 13 knots

source: PennEnergy

The IMR vessel ‘Seven Viking’ has been nominated as ‘Ship of the Year 2013’ by the maritime magazine ‘Skipsrevyen’. ‘Seven Viking’ has been working for Statoil in the North Sea since February, and carries out a multitude of tasks including inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) of subsea oil installations, alongside scale treatment and RFO operations. The vessel is designed and constructed by ULSTEIN and owned by Eidesvik Offshore and Subsea 7.

Watch film of 'Seven Viking'

“’Seven Viking’ is a high quality product, a ship that is tailor-made for IMR (Inspection Maintenance and Repair) operations and with unmatched technical and operational capacity within this sector. She operates in a most satisfactory way, and our client is very pleased. She has become the ‘talk-of-the-town’ within the oil and gas sector”, claims Subsea 7’s Offshore Manager, Vidar Øvstedal.

Optimised for a variety of tasks

Although restricted in size, the vessel is certainly not restricted in her capacity to carry a litany of essential subsea tools and personnel, thanks to a clever configuration whereby hull space is maximised and equipment is integrated within a large hangar area.

“She is a truly optimised design for her array of tasks,” states Stuart Fitzgerald, Vice President Norway, Subsea 7. “The ability to carry all the necessary maintenance equipment on board the vessel ensures that she can operate continually and meet any challenge, absolutely minimising operational downtime. In addition, she features a separate accommodation unit – positioned away from all active work areas – to ensure that the crew can rest without any disturbances.”

Overwhelmed

“I am overwhelmed. Being on board a brand-new vessel, I had expected some teething problems, but all systems are working smoothly. We hardly had any disruptions in our work whatsoever”, says Captain Jan Tangenes from Eidesvik Offshore.

Stability

The vessel incorporates the X-BOW® hull line design to reduce motion in transit and give increased stability in the rough weather that can be expected in the North Sea. Despite this enviable stability, something usually associated with size, this SX148 design from ULSTEIN has been crafted to be compact in stature – measuring ‘just’ 106.5 metres long and 24.5 metres wide.

“Delivers beyond expectations”

“This is a fabulous vessel. We are maintaining a service speed of 16 knots in quite rough weather, and we had no trouble with that. The comfort for personnel onboard is very good. This is my first X-BOW® vessel, and I am very pleased. She delivers beyond my expectations so far”, says Tangenes, adding: “I am really impressed by this vessel”.

• Length 106.5m x breadth moulded 24.5m
• Service Speed: 16.0 knots
• Accommodation: 90 persons
• AHC Offshore crane: 135 Te @13m
• 2 x Workclass ROVs
• 1 x Observation class ROV

Source: ULSTEIN